Shocking F1 turnaround: Why Aston Martin’s cars were the slowest at spa

Aston Martin stunned Formula 1 fans for all the wrong reasons at the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix both of their cars qualified at the very back of the grid, marking the worst qualifying result in the team’s F1 history.

Here’s what really happened behind the scenes and why the team hit rock bottom just when it seemed like things were improving.

Fernando Alonso qualified 19th and Lance Stroll 20th at Spa-Francorchamps a track famous for its fast straights and technical corners. This is the first time Aston Martin has ever started from the final row in an F1 race. Even during its brief and forgettable 1959–60 run, this low wasn’t reached.

What went wrong?

Aston Martin’s car, the AMR25, is already known for struggling with straightline speed due to its high drag. But to make things worse:

• Extra wing was added for possible rain, which slowed them even more.
• Removing the wing for more speed would have ruined their grip in corners.
• The team reverted to an older floor design (from the Imola GP) to handle Spa’s tricky corners like Eau Rouge, sacrificing the benefits of their latest upgrades.
• Tire overheating became a problem due to poor grip and setup issues, especially in the middle sector of the lap.

Alonso said it clearly: “We were half a second off Q2. That’s not just from setup compromises — something deeper is wrong.”

A lose-lose situation

Both drivers were stuck in a setup dilemma. Stroll explained it best:
“If we take off wing for speed, we lose grip. If we add wing for corners, we lose speed. There’s no winning.”

Even with wet weather possibly hitting the race, expectations are low. Alonso emphasized the need to analyze what went so wrong:
“We need to understand why our car didn’t work here. This isn’t who we are as a team.”